stereo-brain

[stereo-brain]

Don't get forget this blog has moved to stereobrain.blogspot.com

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Our Top 20 Most Listened To Albums... (10 - 7)

10. My Head Is An Animal – Of Monsters And Men (1246 Plays)

This 2012 album from the Icelandic band is fantastic. With popular hits “Dirty Paws “ and “Little Talks” making it big over in the UK is definitely one of my favourites. Not one of the most complete albums ever produced with a few dull songs but fantastic nonetheless.

9. Sings The Greys – Frightened Rabbit (1386 Plays)

Yes. More Frightened Rabbit and we’re not even near the end of it. This their first studio album released way back in 2006 is much more stripped down and raw than the following albums. Again another favourite album of mine with songs like “The Greys”, “Snake” and “Square 9” which mean a lot to me personally why wouldn’t it be.

8. Tales From The Thames Delta – The Milk (1403 Plays)

Now this is a stonker. The debut album from the funk/soul/alternative/pop group the Milk. Every song on this album has me singing along to it for the whole day. Personal favourites are “Chip The Kids”, “Broke Up The Family” and “B-Roads” but really the whole album is a masterpiece, especially as each song links to the next if you listen to the album straight through, a lesson for many bands on how to write an album and not just 10-12 catchy songs.

7. Owl John – Owl John (1470 Plays)

Another Frightened Rabbit –ish album. The lead singer –Scott Hutchison – embarked on this solo record and it was incredible. An awesome album, similar in many ways to his band but also very different. Love it.

#of monsters and men #frightened rabbit #owl john #the milk #my head is an animal #the greys #abum review #top 20 #review #music #stereo brain

[stereo-brain]

Our Top 20 Most Listened To Albums... (15 - 11)

15. Tape Deck Heart – Frank Turner (998 Plays)

Back to Frank again, this time with his 2012 album Tape Deck Heart. This is probably considered his most popular album, you can even get away with playing some songs at parties as everyone knows the words. It’s hard to pick out songs from this album but if I had to “Recovery” and “Broken Piano” are both fantastic but are both very different.

14. A Tale Of Two Cities – Mr Hudson & The Library (1008 Plays)

Something a bit different now, released in 2006 this was my album of choice when I was 9 or 10. Really not what you’d expect someone of that age to listen to, but this album has just improved and improved the older I’ve got. Since this Mr. Hudson has gone on to collaborate with some huge artists like Kanye West for example, but this is where it started.

13. The Singles – Feeder (1080 Plays)

Another gem from my childhood – released in 2006 I’ve loved this album for years and since seen Feeder live under the name Renegades. This album is almost a greatest hits album from a certain phase in Feeders history as a band, adapting and changing their style after the release of this album. Still this album contains absolute classics like “Buck Rogers” and “Yesterday Went Too Soon”.

12. The Wombats Proudly Present… This Modern Glitch – The Wombats (1114 Plays)

Soundtrack to my young teenage years and still a guilty pleasure, the Wombats never get old and absolutely never fail to liven up a party. Seeing them at Reading Festival this year along with the release of their new album has rekindled my love for their music. There is absolutely nothing wrong with a bit of guilty indie pop.

11. State Hospital EP – Frightened Rabbit (1229 Plays)

The first Frightened Rabbit album on the list is a five track EP released a few months before the release of Pedestrian Verse – their most recent album (but more on that to come) – this is a fantastic album with the title track the highlight. This should be a warning of whats to come (a lot more Frightened Rabbit)

#Frank Turner #the wombats #feeder #Frightened Rabbit #mr hudson #state hospital #tape deck heart #the singles #top 20 #albums #review #this modern glitch #music #music review #Stereo Brain

[stereo-brain]

Our Top 20 Most Listened To Albums... (20 - 16)

So browsing the internet I found this fantastic application. It analyses your iTunes library and can tell you all sorts about the music you own. Link is here:

http://download.cnet.com/Super-Analyzer/3000-2141_4-81506.html

One of the most interesting things I found was a list of your top 20 played albums so I thought I’d write a bit about each.

20. England Keeps My Bones – Frank Turner (862 plays)

This is the album that launched Frank Turner into the spotlight, released in 2008 and ever since Frank has been fighting his way up to stardom. Including some fantastic songs such as I Still Believe, Glory Hallelujah and Eulogy. It’s definitely one of my favourites.

19. Mean Everything To Nothing – Manchester Orchestra (875 plays)

The second album of American indie rock band Manchester Orchestra is fantastic, released in 2009 it contains probably their most famous song “I Can Feel A Hot One” which is oddly different to a lot of the rest of the album and the rest of their discography. Other hits on the album include “I’ve Got Friends” and “Everything To Nothing”. Again another one of my favourite bands and albums who hold up incredibly well live as well.

18. Darlings – The Bronze Medal (900 plays)

Having only been in my music library for 3 months this is an impressive showing. An incredible debut album well beyond the years of the little known band. Full review of this album from earlier this year here: http://goo.gl/BWL14G

17. Simple Math – Manchester Orchestra (919 plays)

Can you tell I like Manchester Orchestra? This, their 3rd album, is again fantastic with hits like “Simple Math” and “Pensacola” on. I love this album but the only thing is the songs on this album sound even better in a live environment.

16. Are You Satisfied? – Slaves (923 plays)

Only released in June this year, like the Bronze Medal, Slaves have done well to make it onto this list. However deservedly they did, this is one of the best modern albums to date. Currently the album of 2015 for us here as it shouts loud and proud that punk isn’t dead yet. From this album has come the meteoric rise of the band while dragging other bands up like Crows, Baby Strange and Sleaford Mods up with them. Full review from earlier this year is here: http://goo.gl/1ZFEqF

#frank turner #manchester orchestra #slaves #the bronze medal #top 20 #albums #top 20 albums #england keep my bones #mean everything to nothing #darlings #are you satisfied #simple math #music #music review #review #stereo brain

[stereo-brain]

Favourite Worry

Tales from the Thames Delta, in my opinion, is one of the most complete albums ever made. It ticks so many boxes, blending parts of funk and soul with pop and indie in a brilliant cacophony of genre defying and catchy music, every song on the album, for me, could have been a hit. Not only that, the album held up live as well, I’d put The Milk up there with some of the best live acts I’ve ever seen.

So 3 years on, they’re faced with the task of following this up and despite my love for the first album, I and many others always felt that the album didn’t reflect the bands true demeanour. You always had the feeling that they were really a soul band, not a blend of everything, never more obvious in the first album than in ‘Lay The Pain On Me’ the only song on the album that wasn’t full pelt, you felt the band reigned it back and where true to their roots. So this is what I’ve been hoping for from the new album, I really have not been disappointed.

The pop hooks and indie style are still there in a lot of the songs on ‘Favourite Worry’ but they take a back seat and the driving force comes from the funk and soul deep routed in the band. But despite this the band have not lost the ability to right a catchy tune, I constantly find myself belting out a terrible rendition of ‘Don’t Give Up The Night’ in the shower, but not only that there a lot more ‘quiet’ songs on the album. You feel like The Milk have found a comfortable balance in the music they’ve produced in the album and are finally producing the music that is a lot more like what the band is about.

The result is a fantastic album and it will very quickly be one of my favourites: 8.5/10

#the milk #tales from the thames delta #favourite worry #dont give up the night #milk #new album #new music #album review #stereo brain

[stereo-brain]

Dials Festival

New festival, new bands!

Having moved to Cardiff is a blessing and a curse. The positives is that I’m experiencing a whole new set of venues and scenes that I have never seen before, the downside it’s a long way to treck back down to the south coast to visit old favourites. Nonetheless this weekend I popped on the train for 2 and a half hours to see a festival which has become part of my yearly routine.

Southsea Festival, which I went to in 2012 and 2013 seeing artists like George Ezra, Drenge and Anamanaguchi before they were a lot bigger, is fantastic. Split across many venues in Southsea across Albert Road – the live music hub of the city – it’s always a fantastic opportunity to see new music; local, national and international. However this year the organisers have taken a year off, and hence Dials Festival was born. Run across 5 venues on Albert Road who wanted to keep the tradition of a street festival going it was a fantastic testament to a local community pulled together by music.

Having lived down the road from the festival site as a child and being brought up in those music venues it was very nice to feel at home after 2 weeks in an alien city and not only that the festival had an incredible line up, some I knew, some I’d never heard of before.

The day started in a little venue called the Edge of the Wedge, a little pub/music venue on the side of the much bigger Wedgewood Rooms, a well-known and popular independent venue in the local area. I wondered in not knowing what to expect from Bright Smoke and I was pleasantly surprised by what greeted me. A one woman band, sampling a cello and electric guitar live in a psychedelic style is a fantastic way to start your Saturday afternoon. She was quickly at 3 in the Wedgewood Rooms by the local Showcase event winners ­_______ who brought a familiar indie rock style to unfortunately quite an empty room, however they played on and those who were in the room thoroughly enjoyed it.

The next band I saw were my band of the day for the second festival this summer, having seen them at Blissfields already this year I knew what to expect from MOK but once again they were fantastic, better even than when I saw them before. Not really fitting into a genre is MOKs speciality combining elements of Rap, Indie Rock, Electronic and occasionally heavier metal they are delight for any music fan. I still would definitely tip them for much greater things as they had everyone in the room bopping and listening attentively. I definitely cannot wait for any album they may release in the future as it will be on repeat for a long time.

Another stand out band of the day for me were FlashFires who I have also already seen this summer at Butserfest. Again, like MOK, they were even better than before, I think this is because both bands lend themselves to filling a room with their sound which they couldn’t do where I saw them both before. FlashFires played in a poky little pub called Little Johnny Russels just down the road from the Wedgewood Rooms, and it was fantastic, you could sit, have a pint and watch an exciting band in tiny venue.

Then came the top end of the bill, my favourite of which was Kagoule. Having released their fantastic new album Urth this summer it was fantastic to hear a fantastic album live. Kagoule are a part of a new emerging grunge and punk scene in the UK, headed by bands like Sleaford Mods, Fidlar and Slaves amongst others, the next year could be a breakout year for Kagoule amongst many others in this genre. Having seen them at Dials I have already booked tickets to see them up in Cardiff, can’t wait!

Roll on Dials/ Southsea festival next year, if it’s as good as this year, I can’t wait.

#kagoule #mok #flahfires #festival #dials festival #stereo brain

[stereo-brain]

Sleaford Mods

September is always an exciting time for any music fan. It signals the end of festival season and the beginning of touring season. Having booked my tickets 2 months ago I’ve been excited for a while for the start of what promised to be a cracking couple of months. It all kicked of last night with Sleaford Mods.

Having recently moved city to Cardiff following the start of 4 years of uni I was excited to go to a new venue as much as anything. Kicking things of in Y Plas in the Cardiff SU seeing an incredibly politically charged set of bands was a treat. Never before have I seen a gig pull together such an eclectic mix of people. The crowd could have probably been split across three generations yet everyone there connected through a common understanding of what the music meant.

A group like Sleaford Mods aren’t loved for their musical integrity, that’s not what brings three generations together, it’s the pure meaning of the music. The rawness and political anger in the lyrics reflects the feelings of the people in the room. This leads to an electric atmosphere, less of a gig, more of a political rally, don’t get me wrong people bop along and mosh but everyone watches with an eagerness, listening to the words, it’s electric.

When I first booked tickets, I was extremely nervous about how Sleaford Mods would sound in a live situation, sounding as different as they do. Conventionally one guy shouting methodically into a microphone while his mate hits play on a laptop doesn’t sound like a great prospect but they nailed it. Can’t wait for what they have in store in th future, and what the rest of gig season holds.

(I apologise for the poor photo, was in the centre of a mosh pit...)

#stereo brain #sleaford mods #steve ignorant #gigs #touring season #cardiff

[stereo-brain]

Album Of The Week

2/?

My album of the week this week is Various Cruelties one and only album. In my experience this is one of the most complete albums, every song could have been a hit. In the end not many of them were, however I insist this is one of my favourite albums and I would definitely recommend giving it a listen

#various cruelties #album of the week #stereo brain

[stereo-brain]

Every Open Eye

I will always stand by the notion that all the best bands are Scottish, this band is a fantastic example of this. CHVRCHES have experienced a meteoric rise over the last few years since the release of their incredible first album “The Bones of What You Believe”, the catchy electro-pop reaching out to an incredibly large audience. To follow on from such an incredible debut was always going to be difficult.

Every Open Eye is everything you’d want it to be as a follow up to CHVRCHES debut, the style is the same, the vocals and lyrics fantastic and haunting. Yet something sounds different, the band appears to have matured, moving further from the in your face electronic riffs which become more subtle, giving the band an overall fuller sound which sound orchestral at points. Having opened the door for more electronic indie bands such as Prides to name but one, it was important that the sound of CHVRCHES evolved slightly so they remained distinctive which they have achieved outstandingly in this album.

This album is a fantastic development on a stunning debut, can’t wait to see what they do next 8.5/10

#chvrches #every open eye #review #scottish bands #the bones of what you believe #stereo brain

[stereo-brain]

Album Of The Week

Starting an new ALBUM OF THE WEEK feature!

Exploring old and new music is a passion of mine and I’m going to share what I find each week....

1/?

Feeder - The Singles

A classic edition to any music collection. Documenting Feeder’s hit songs up until the release of the album in 2006. Not only this, it represented an end of a chapter in Feeder’s discography switching to a heavier and progressively grungier albums subsequent to this. This album reflects the height of Feeder’s fame in the late 90′s early 00′s and is their most popular album to date.

Enjoy

#feeder #the singles #buck rogers #rock #noughties #album review #album #new feature #new music #stereo brain

[stereo-brain]

Who Needs Headliners Part 2

Saturday

Who I Saw: Nothing But Thieves, Twin Peaks, Foals, Slaves, Catfish & The Bottlemen, Twin Atlantic, The Wombats

Highlight: It had to be Slaves. This was the second time this year I had seen them (of 3 planned) and I was intrigued how they'd get on in a festival environment especially playing to such a large tent as they played the NME/BBC Radio 1 stage. I needn't have worried, their unique stage presence was felt by everyone inside the packed to the edges tent, and every song was shouted back by everyone in the tent. You got the feeling that they could and should have been much further up the bill, but if anything that did them a favour, it meant every punk rocker at the festival was there contributing to an electric atmosphere. Not only did they respond with crowd favourites such as Hunter and Cheer Up London, they played a new song – Facing The Wall, a release I'm very much looking forward to.

Overview

At the start of the day a dilema faced every festival goer, a choice between Nothing But Thieves and Babymetal. As much as I wanted to see the childhood rockers from japan, I chose Nothing But Thieves. Tipped for big things Nothing But Thieves gave everyone in the NME Stage a glimpse at their forthcoming album, I'll tell you one thing, I'll be buying it. Following them on the same stage where Twin Peaks, who unfortunately where quite a dull band, with nothing unique about them at all, but I soldiered through as rumoured to be up next was a secret set. By whom? None other than Foals, whose hotly anticipated album dropped on the Thursday and it sounded great live, not only that they played some old favourites as well. So with Slaves following them it was a pretty good start to the day.

After heading back to the tent to consume a few drinks, we headed back out to say Catfish & The Bottlemen who are one of my favourite live bands, and obviously a lot of other peoples too. Their packed tent almost confirmed they would have a much higher spot at festivals to come as the size of the crowd decreased for the following act – Twin Atlantic. The scottish rockers, however, where not fazed and put on a fantastic last show before a brief hiatus to produce a new album.

Finally to end the night I again headed to the Festival Republic stage to see the awesome Liverpudlians put on a packed show in the tiniest tent, goodness knows what they were doing in there and not in a bigger tent but it was still an awesome set. Opening with Moving To New York and playing hits from each of their 3 albums they had the whole crowd dancing and singing along.

So that was the end of the Saturday for me, ready for the last day

To be continued...

#nothing but thieves #babymetal #twin peaks #slaves #foals #what went down #Catfish and the Bottlemen #twin atlantic #the wombats #stereo brain

[stereo-brain]

Who Needs Headliners? Part 1

Having bought my ticket for Reading festival at the earliest point possible, I was dissapointed with what followed. Mumford & Sons, Metallica and The Libertines aren't exactly what I'd call my ideal headliners, but on closer inspection there were some hidden gems in that line up, and I spent my weekend finding them.

Friday

Who I saw: Mariachi El Bronx, Neck Deep, Drenge, Skinny Lister, The Smith Street Band, The Menzingers, Prides, Limp Bizkit, Django Django

Highlight:

The highlight for me on the friday was definitely The Smith Street Band, having had them recommended to me by a friend and downloading their album the morning I left, I was very excited. The australian pop punk band definitely did not disappoint. They had a fun set, involving the whole crowd which convinced me to buy more of their albums.

Overview

Today was the only day that I braved the main stage. Tackling the fun Mariachi El Bronx {punk band gone mexican), an incredible set by Neck Deep and a Drenge show which left me absolutely crushed but feeling pumped. After that I switched to The Lock Up stage seeing rebellious country masters Skinny Lister, they were fantastic – a crowd surfing double bass player and collection of true sing-a-longs – what more could you want? Following them was the epic Smith Street Band which the would have led to Modern Baseball, however they cancelled their set because of needing to deal with emotional issues, to which we hope that he gets better soon and we see them back in the UK soon. However instead we had the fabulous Menzingers, who rocked the small tent and had the whole tent bobbing along, and although I knew none of the words it was still an awesome show. After a brief interlude for food, we headed over to the Festival Republic stage, the place to be for all the indie acts at the festival, to see Prides. The electro group from Scotland had a ring of 80's electronic about them, catchy hooks and beats that get stuck into your head for days to come. They were one of the most fun and light hearted bands I saw all weekend and I came away brandishing a giant balloon, which made the whole thing even more enjoyable.

Then to the big ones, the headliners... no, I don't think so. Limp Bizkit in the NME/BBC radio 1 stage next. The place to be for people who didn't want to see Mumford & Sons, which appeared to be a lot of people, with the tent packed and overflowing they played tracks from their whole discography and had the whole crowd buzzing. So once they were over I headed to the Festival Republic Stage again to see Django Django but not before seeing a part of Mumford & Sons who, after the incredible show but on by Limp Bizkit, were nothing short of dissapointing, so I left them to it. Django Django however were fantastic, an absolutely lovely crowd dancing to some great tunes from a band on the up. With that I went to bed, ready for the next day....

To Be Continued

#Reading and Leeds #django django #menzingers #limp bizkit #prides #smith street band #modern baseball #drenge #neck deep #mariachi el bronx #skinny lister #stereo brain

[stereo-brain]

What’s playing

What songs are on repeat for us this week?

White Knuckle Ride - Slaves

This track off the punk hits of the year from back in 2012 is awesome and a constant feature in their live sets. “I love you more when you’re angry with me, because your so boring when your nice”

Radio Silence - Kassassin Street

The new single from the Portsmouth alternative dance group. Following up from favourites Centre Straight Atom and The Royal Handkerchief Ballet this song ticks all the boxes.

We Were Just Kids - PJ Bond

Haviing seen PJ support Frank Turner at The Railway Inn in einchester a few weeks ago, we have fallen for his sad, amrican songs with hints of early manchester orchestra about him. Love it!

Missing In Action - The Comsat Angels

This ones an old one, a song from 1980 recently digitised from my dads vinyl collection. This band co-headlined a tour with U2 in their early years. A great song with a fabulous intro, worth a listen back for a sound of alternative rock in the early 80′s

#kassassin street #comsat angels #slaves #pj bond

[stereo-brain]

An ‘Automatic’ Hit

Don Broco's debut album 'Priorities' is exactly what is needed for people who like grumpy yet catchy rock music. With hits like 'Whole Truth' and 'Let's Go Back To School' it was a sing, dance and shout along album. It's been almost exactly 3 years since that and the bands long anticipated second album has been released.

'Automatic' follows along the same lines as their debut, the same distinctive vocals and lyrics, however they have taken a slight swing towards the mainstream; even catchier songs and a bit of a lighter sound might just make this album a hit with a wider audience.

The title track has got to be one of my favourites on the album, extremely catchy with a good beat it is bound to have everyone singing along as they tour the festivals this summer. This along with songs like ‘Nerve’ and ‘Fire’ should keep everyone bouncing along.

All in all, a fantastic album and extremely catchy 7.5/10

#don broco #stereo brain #automatic #priorities #donbroco #reading and leeds #butserfest

[stereo-brain]

Positive Review From Negative People

After the success of ‘Tape Deck Heart’, album number 6 from Frank Turner had a lot to live up to. Dubbed as the album which launched Frank Turner into the public eye along with his appearance at the Olympic opening ceremony three years ago, it was going to be a hard act to follow, however ‘Positive Songs For Negative People’ has lived up to every expectation.

With sing along anthems like ‘Get Better’ and ‘The Next Storm’, the album highlights a new direction in Frank’s music, reflecting his feelings and a turn for the better in his personal life. These songs are extremely difficult to not dance down the street to, or at least mouth along to while looking like an idiot to everyone else.

What I love about Frank Turner is he can write anthems but also craft songs like ‘Mittens’, ‘Demons’ and ‘Josephine’ which to an untrained ear sound very upbeat but listening to the lyrics it still reflects Franks emotional intensity which you can hear a lot more obviously in his previous albums. Despite this being less obvious, his way with words is still present and is rivalled by very few songwriters (a close second to Scott Hutchison in my book but that’s just me (still waiting for a collaboration guys)).

More importantly he revisits his old stripped down style in this album, not seen as much in ‘Tape Deck Heart’, and there are a few more intimate songs such as ‘The Angel Islington’ and especially ‘A Song For Josh’ which certainly brings a tear to the eye in a touching tribute for his friend who committed suicide in 2013. These songs recognise the journey Frank’s been on and despite this album being titled as ‘Positive’, there are still bad times in anyone’s life. Songs like these show that you have to move through the bad times to make the good times better, a theme present throughout the album.

Overall this is a stunning album, reflective of Frank’s usual skilful lyricism but with a positive twist: 9.5/10

Buy the album here: https://store.universalmusic.com/frankturner/

#frank turner #stereo brain #ps4np #positive review #frank turner army #positive songs for negative people #positivesongsfornegativepeople #get better #the next storm #tape deck heart

[stereo-brain]

More Dates For Your Diary!!

14th August 2015 - Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes // Blossom

14th August 2015 - Neck Deep // Life’s Not Out To Get You

11th September 2015 - Bring Me The Horizon // That’s The Spirit

18th September 2015 - Front Bottoms // Back On Top

2nd February 2016 - Front Bottoms UK Tour

#frank carter #neck deep #bring me the horizon #front bottoms

[stereo-brain]

Not Dead Yet

From the three songs (The Next Storm, Get Better and Mittens) released so far on Frank Turner’s upcoming album Positive Songs for Negative People (out in a week’s time on 07/08/15), he seems to be exploring the difficulties in rediscovering happiness after struggling through emotional issues and past relationships.

After hearing a preview of The Next Storm at Larmer Tree Festival in July last year, it really resonated with me and I’m excited that the album version has retained the same feeling and impact. For me it seems to have influences from the unapologetically upbeat Love Ire & Song as well as the emotional candidness of songs such as Recovery and Plain Sailing Weather on Tape Deck Heart.

For me, Get Better has quickly become one of my favourite songs and with an anthem-like nature similar to I Still Believe and Four Simple Words, I think it accurately captures the feelings of people who understand struggling with yourself but are hopeful about what is to come. It is a true positive song for negative people with a defiantly hopeful attitude and the amazing lyric ‘we could get better because we’re not dead yet’.

The latest release Mittens has a much more subdued sound which could be interpreted as having more of a negative tone but I think still has a positive message – past relationships may not have been perfect but future ones may be. I love this song for its melancholy nature (similar to the tone of Sleep is for the Week) but also for its reflectiveness and more defiant ending; I think it’s a beautifully positive look at negative feelings.

If the rest of Positive Sounds for Negative People follows in the same way as these three songs, I think it will be an amazing collection of rebelliously hopeful tracks (combining Frank’s skillful lyricism and punk influences) and is definitely something to look forward to.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4IZbCl6iR4 - The Next Storm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tB4Avdlz3lk - Get Better

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Nn7uPD128I - Mittens

#Frank Turner #frankturner #positive songs for negative people #positivesongsfornegativepeople #the next storm #get better #mittens #love ire & song #love ire and song #recovery #plain sailing weather #tape deck heart #i still believe #four simple words #not dead yet #sleep is for the week